Story Highlights

Silly, petty and possibly crippling drama appears to be taking root within the Phillies, just five days after the clash seemingly died down.

ESPN resuscitated the rumor Tuesday, the lone off day of the Phillies' spring. According to the report, there is "strong sentiment" within the organization that the Phils prefer trading Rollins and moving on with a new shortstop in order to "set a new tone."

This development, in view of recent history, makes things clear. This has been a statement six months in the making. It began when Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said getting more from Rollins was "a challenge of mine" back in August, shortly after he took over for the fired Charlie Manuel.

Then there was Larry Bowa telling another ESPN writer earlier this month that Rollins is a "red-light" player, and needed to hustle more. Then there was Sandberg benching Rollins for three straight days, a silent finger wag at arguably the best shortstop in team history for telling a reporter "who cares" when the topic of poor spring training stats came up.

The fact that the Phillies are trying to trade Rollins is not news. They've tried since last season at the trade deadline. Rollins, however, is a 10-and-5 player, meaning he's played at least 10 years in the league and at least five years with the same team. By achieving those milestones, Rollins has a full no-trade clause.

That's the crux of this drama. The Phillies' subtle, yet deafening statement appears aimed to get Rollins to waive that no-trade clause, something he has repeatedly said he does not want to do. Sandberg, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and other team officials would rather hand the starting job to Freddy Galvis, a defensive dynamo who has struggled to gain his footing at the plate.

Essentially, the Phillies are trying to bully Rollins out of town. Which is silly.

On a team obliterated by injuries in the past, Rollins has been a mainstay, averaging 149 games played per season since 2001. If not for a lower leg strain in 2010, the number would be higher. It's hard to blame a player who has given so much to the franchise for a lack of effort.

And Rollins' original comments about spring training stats were not far from the truth. It's not that he doesn't care about spring training. It was putting things into a broader perspective.

"But ultimately, at the end of the day, what does it mean? What really does it mean?" Rollins said. "Until April starts, what are you going to do besides keep working? Nobody down here is snapping helmets and throwing bats and cursing out umpires yet. But in April, the very first pitch in April, that starts because the competitive edge comes out when every single pitch matters."

Yes, his production dropped last season. He hit .252 with six home runs and a .667 OPS. The homers and OPS were career worsts. This came as a sharp decline from his 23 homers and .743 OPS in 2012.

But Rollins is still an excellent defensive shortstop. He may not be the wizard Galvis is, but he makes up for it with better production at the plate, even in his down seasons. Galvis has hit .230 with nine homers and a .644 OPS in 128 career games.

But this doesn't look like it's about production, at least not at its core. It's about attitude, a buzzword often associated with Rollins throughout his tenure as a Phillie. Manuel benched Rollins twice for a lack of hustle.

Sandberg got his start early.

This will end one of two ways. Either the Phillies' bullying irks Rollins enough to waive the no-trade clause, and the organization has its way, or Rollins maintains his position, gets his 434 at-bats and unlocks that $11 million vesting option for 2015. Also, Rollins is 60 hits away from passing Mike Schmidt for the Phillies' all-time lead in the category, something he's said is very important to him.

Either way, the drama will do little good for the team. And should the Phillies persist, it's not a good look.